You can’t be shocked if Alonso decides he’d like to manage Madrid sooner rather than later. There’s so many generational players there, it really is huge if you’re a manager being able to manage Mbappe, Vinicius, Bellingham, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchouameni, potentially Davies and they’ll probably sign a couple more. The heights you could take a squad like that are almost unparalleled. There’s a bit of a dressing room harmony about them, maybe it’s because Barcelona aren’t the same threat they were all those years ago, but it does feel like this Madrid side could dominate La Liga in a way Barcelona did with Messi for well over a decade. It used to feel like they would self combust under the pressure of being inferior to Barcelona but it’s hard to see that happening with Barca relying on toddlers so heavily.
We also can’t be shocked if Madrid have been lining him up and communicating with him for a long time as part of some grand master plan. That’s how they operate. My own view is if Ancelotti loses to City in Europe, there could be an emotional reaction to that where they decide getting Xabi in for next season would be preferred rather than risk he comes to Liverpool and commits to a minimum 5 year project here. For Xabi, it might be the only time our job becomes available and he may deem England the better move for his career at this point than the pressure cooker of managing Madrid. Madrid just seem to have those powers of persuasion above everyone else, when they really want someone they usually get them, they’ve been the only club I’ve really worried about since Klopp announced he was leaving.
